Varsity Edges Alumni in Saturday's Match
9/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Sept. 12, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Every so often, the men's tennis team invites its alumni back to challenge the current squad to a dual match. In this year's installment of the series, the 2009 team came out on top by a score of 41-36. All matches, both singles and doubles, were eight-game pro sets. The total number of games won was added to determine the match winner.
Of the six matchups on the day, four were doubles and two were singles.
Because the current team was down in numbers, 2009 graduates Andrew Felsenthal and All-SEC selection Billy Mertz joined the team but fell to the alumni duo of Chris Gostek (2004) and Javier Bes (2008) 8-3. That would be the only doubles win for the alumni as senior Houssam Yassine and sophomore Creighton Blanchard, sophomore Ricky Doverspike and junior Trey Walston, and redshirt freshman Michael Davis and true freshman Harris Barnard all defeated their alumni counterparts. Yassine and Blanchard had the largest margin of victory on the day with an 8-2 win over Scott Fligel (1989) and William Boyles (2003). Doverspike and Walston and Davis and Barnard both won by score of 8-6 taking on Mason Snider (2000) and Greg Thompson and Geoff Hiscox (2003) and Chris McRae (2002), respectively.
In singles, senior Saketh Myneni picked up an 8-6 win over former All-American and All-SEC honoree Max Belski (2003). Former ATP player and NCAA singles qualifier Stephen Mitchell (2004) was able to grab the other singles win for the alumni posting an 8-6 decision over sophomore Michael Thompson.
The Crimson Tide opens its 2009 fall season Friday, Sept. 18 at the Southern Intercollegiates in Athens, Ga. The tournament will run through Monday, Sept. 21.
Players Mentioned
